Literary lion's watchdog is muzzled

Stephen Joyce, the highly litigious grandson of Ireland's great writer James Joyce has devoted his life to fiercely protecting his grandfather's copyright, and has never been slow to set his lawyers on those foolhardy enough to take the Joyce name in vain or to reproduce Joyce's words without consent.

Few are spared. He has targeted publishing houses, internet readings, and an Edinburgh fringe musical using Molly Bloom's soliloquy from Ulysses. An Irish composer who requested permission to quote 18 words of Finnegans Wake received a refusal letter saying: "To put it politely, my wife and I don't like your music."

But now, fearful for this month's mammoth celebrations of Joyce's masterpiece Ulysses, Irish MPs this week rushed through emergency legislation that will prevent Mr Joyce from suing the Government and the National Library over an exhibition which displays 500 pages of Joyce manuscripts bought for €12.6 million ($22million) in 2002. "James Joyce and Ulysses" forms the centrepiece of the Rejoyce festival commemorating the centenary of Bloomsday, the day on which Ulysses was set.

Stephen Joyce had warned the Government and the library he would take any copyright infringement seriously.

Mr Joyce, now in his 70s, is the writer's only living descendant. He lives in France and has made lots of money suing for copyright infringement and fees for rights.

The Government said it was acting to close a copyright loophole that affected all writers, but intellectuals were quick to bemoan a culture of fear surrounding the representation of Joyce's works.

Senator David Norris, a Joycean scholar, told colleagues in the Irish Senate: "It is an astonishing irony that a man such as James Joyce, who fought for freedom of expression . . . and committed himself so totally against censorship, should now find his works being . . . removed from public gaze by his own estate."